Common yarrow’s genus, Achillea, derives from the mythical Greek character Achilles, who carried it into
battle for its medicinal properties. Yarrow’s species name, mille&shyfolium, means
”thou­sand-leaf,” a reference to yarrow’s myriad tiny leaves, resembling feathers. Some of its odder
common names, such as devil’s plaything, devil’s nettle, and bad man’s plaything, appar­ently
stem from its use in witchcraft.

Identification: Flowers are white flat-topped or umbrella-shaped
clusters. The
leaves, which are sometimes hairy, are the most obvious identifying characteristic.
Yarrow occurs throughout the U.S. and Canada, in grasslands and open forests. Plants reach up
to 3' (91 cm) in height.

Edibility: Young yarrow leaves, which taste sweet with a bitter
tinge, are said to be good when cooked like spinach, or in a
soup.[1] However, yarrow can
be confused with the somewhat similar-appearing, extremely poisonous
wes­tern water hemlock , so don’t eat yarrow unless
you are absolutely certain of its identity.

Medicinal uses: Yarrow contains several chemicals which
are used medically. It was believed to have healing powers and applied topically to treat wounds
and staunch bleeding. An amazing number of other purported herbal uses are discussed in the Wikipedia article.

Nearly all plants need sunlight of course, but surprisingly, too much is deadly. Plants have a complex system for dealing with excess sun. Without this protection, even the wan light of midwinter sun can be fatal. The lower leaves of yarrow persist through the winter, in order to get a head start in the spring, but freezing temperatures shut down this protection system. So in the fall, yarrow protects its leaves by flooding them with purple coloring: plant sunglasses. &middot 9/16/2013 &middot Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, MA≈ 5 × 7" (13 × 16 cm)